1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a carrier for operationally supporting a wheel-type hay rake in a work mode and also in a transport mode and makes possible the use of a single point hitch to the draw bar of a towing vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wheel-type hay rakes are popular farm machines. They are capable of efficiently gathering cut hay into windows for later gathering by baling machines. This type of rake, however, is heavy unwieldy and requires large towing vehicles such as tractors with which to operate because they are designed to be attached to the tractors by way of standard three-point hitches. The three-point hitch arrangement requires the entire weight of the rake to be supported by the tractor during transport thus dictating the use of larger and heavier farm machinery. In addition, the three-point hitch establishes a relatively rigid connection between the towing vehicle and the rake such that upon making a turn during a traverse of a hay field the rake swings wide and disturbs windrow being formed and leaves bunches of hay scattered about. Also, if the area to be raked is uneven and contains water diversion terraces, there is great difficulty encountered because the rake lifts off the ground when the front tractor wheels go into a low spot and the rake digs into the ground when the front wheels go into the depression. Also, because of the wide swing of the rake resulting from relatively small increments of steering of the tractor, and the resultant bunching of hay, it is very difficult to rake following the contours of the terraces when using the three-point hitch, all the forgoing of which reduce the effectiveness of the gathering and baling procedure. Furthermore, with the use of the three-point hitch, the rake in transport position is raised so high as to cause the rake to engage or hit overhead obstructions thereby requiring the careful planning of the route taken in moving the rake from one worksite to another. In view of the deficiencies of the prior art arrangement it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus which will permit sharper turns during the hay gathering process thus avoiding the upsetting of previously gathered windows of hay.
It is another object of the present invention to permit the use of smaller, less expensive tractors in the use of wheel-type hay rakes.
It is yet another object to reduce the overall height of the wheel-type hay rake during transport thereby to lessen the effective number of overhead obstructions thus decreasing the time involved in moving the rake from one worksite to another.